'Terra Nova' Cancelled By Fox: Chernin Series Will Be Shopped To Other Networks

UPDATED: There will be no second season of pre-historic drama Terra Novaon Fox. The network’s brass just made the decision after weeks of exploring potential Season 2 tweaks to the series set 85 million years in the past. Fox had to make the decision early so the show could make a fall return if renewed. Despite its pedigree — produced by Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin — Terra Nova did not become a runaway hit, but its decent ratings, coupled with strong international sales for sibling 20th Century Fox TV, which produces the series, were keeping renewal hopes alive. 20th TV now plans to shop Terra Nova, starring Jason O’Mara and Stephen Lang, to other networks. At TCA in January, Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly was non-committal when asked about the future of the series. “If this is all we make (of Terra Nova), we made money on it, the studio made money on it, and it seems to have resonated with the family audience,” he said. “There is a show, which if we are to bring back, there’s an audience there. But creatively, the show was hunting (for its identity). If we had more holes in our network, we’d be thrilled to lock that right in.”

It is interesting that from what I hear, it was Reilly who made the call to cancel Terra Nova, while it was his boss, Peter Rice, who championed and bought the project exactly two years ago. With House ending its run and Terra Nova gone, Fox has three more dramas on the bubble: two with slim chances of renewal — midseason entries Alcatraz and The Finder — and Fringe, which could clinch a 13-episode pickup if the budget can be pared down significantly. The new Kiefer Sutherland series Touch premieres later this month.

With its elaborate sets (some 259 of them built in Australia) and post-production, it took 16 months for Terra Nova to get on the air after first announced at Fox’s 2010 upfront. It was the first series order for Chernin’s then-recently launched production company, which had several series commitments at Fox built into its deal. (Because of the long lead time for Terra Nova, it got on the air this past fall along with 2 other Chernin Entertainment series, breakout comedy hit New Girl and animated comedy Allen Gregory, which has been canceled). Terra Nova had its share of issues during production of its first 13-episode season. For starters, Craig Silverstein, who co-wrote the pilot script with British scribe Kelly Marcel, was not available because his CW pilot Nikita was picked up to series. Terra Nova recruited Brennan Braga as showrunner. Rene Echevarria was then brought in to run the show with him, the series went through 2 writing staffs and took longer to cast than originally planned, incurring a $660,000 charge for delaying the start of production. In the end, Terra Nova, whose budget was $14 million for the two-hour pilot and about $4 million for the subsequent episodes, not including Australian tax breaks, premiered last fall with one of Fox’s most hyped launches. It was a steady but modestly-rated performer and a big DVR gainer. The series two-hour season finale drew a 2.2/6 in adults 18-49 and 7.2 million viewers, in line with the show’s season average, which wasn’t big enough to seal a renewal but not too small to warrant an automatic cancellation.

Then the waiting game began.

20th TV and the Terra Nova producers proactively began approaching potential showrunner and senior producer level writers about joining the series for next season in order to elevate the writing on the show. The network was pitched several potential new executive producers as well as Season 2 ideas. Reilly, who I hear was never a big fan of Terra Nova, didn’t spark to any of the plans. The studio’s last-ditch effort was on Friday, when another prospective showrunner was taken to the network to meet wit Reilly. Despite the meeting reportedly going well, Reilly today decided to pull the plug. While not unexpected, the cancellation of a series that hails from such big auspices and is a moneymaker for Fox’s sister studio, was a surprise.

278 Comments

Decent ratings? It fell consistently from it’s premiere. And the show just wasn’t very good. I was hoping it would be but was so disappointed. The cast had nothing to work with storyline wise.

Kara • on Mar 5, 2012 10:44 pm

The ratings were decent compared to FOX’s other dramas, which are all falling below 2 in the demo…

Kara • on Mar 5, 2012 10:46 pm

with the exception of Bones and possibly Touch (but it’s too early to say on that one). But Finder, Alcatraz, and Fringe are worse flops than Terra Nova.

BobtheBuilder • on Mar 6, 2012 1:58 pm

LOL Fringe is a flop? You just don’t understand science fiction. You’re like the rest of the population who only likes reality tv shows because it’s on par with their intellect.

Robert • on Mar 7, 2012 8:33 pm

Fringe a sucess give me a break. I am suprissed a show that losses money every year is still on the air. All I have to say is one of the few people who love the show much be a execate at fox.

J • on Mar 7, 2012 8:50 pm

Kara is talking ratings, and Fringe is hard to defend as a success from that standpoint.

Michael365 • on Mar 23, 2012 6:38 pm

Amen Bob. Your 100% on target.

Mike • on Mar 26, 2012 4:52 am

Yes but Bob your still in the population that lives in his mom’s house.

Aggregator • on Mar 6, 2012 9:11 am

Last time I checked this show had 16 Executive Producer level credits. They were probably bleeding a million bucks per episode just from paying all those EPs.

dwight • on Mar 6, 2012 5:35 pm

R u kidding? It was almost the best show on TV!! I can’t believe they killed it…and JUST as the season finale left us hanging and excited about next season!!? Why bother watching any show?

MIke • on Apr 13, 2012 1:17 am

I agree with you… why get yourself into it if they’re not giving a it chance.. It could have been another Star Trek.. at least it has 4 or 5 seasons… I guess I will finally watch the finale…The ones who judge what show stays and goes are in a different seat now than they used to be… They used actually consider value not just the bottom line but actual value on the affect of society.. Thx for the comment..

patty • on Apr 29, 2012 7:54 am

It make no sense to start watching any new series cause you never know when they will cancel and leave you hanging

Kristie • on May 15, 2012 2:56 pm

I agree.. I loved that show and couldn’t wait for season 2. What is wrong with these people..

Mike Simoncelli • on Mar 7, 2012 6:49 am

That SUCKS! I loved this show, it was one of my favorites of the year. I love the story line, the special effects. FOX SUCKS!

Ghost • on Mar 15, 2012 5:58 pm

Well FOX STRIKES AGAIN…… Stupid reality shows stay on the air forever and something comes along with potential and they don’t give it a chance to really develop. True to their past Fox SUCKS as usual….

Lisa Shinn • on Apr 4, 2012 6:23 am

I must be a fool then… because the shows that Fox canceled or wants
o cancel are my some of my favorites Terra Nova, Alcatraz, Fringe and the Finder are all entertaining and have potential. If the story lines are the problem then get new writers although I liked the stories. I think Fringe is very interesting and I believe it entices the viewer to explore the possibility that there is nowhere
in science we humans can’t go! Terra Nova has not really had a chance to see where it could go and well, The Finder is just a fun show.

Monica • on Apr 13, 2012 7:53 pm

I know! It’s like Firefly all over again. Did anyone watch Firefly? It was a great show, but Fox dropped it too! The really disappointing part about Firefly was that they KNEW it was going to die, but they ended the season on a cliffhanger anyway.
But the really encouraging part is that after Firefly died, they made a movie, Serenity, which was awesome! Have hope! I believe Terra Nova will come back to life! And my pint is, I agree, Fox sucks (like Edward Cullen)

Jerry • on Mar 7, 2012 9:25 pm

This makes the third decent series to fall without any real reason and left on a cliffhanger. Was really interested in The event and Fast Forward but they cut as well. Like someone else said, why even bother watching these shows if there is a possiblity of them not returning.

Jamie • on Mar 13, 2012 2:38 pm

You’re dead wrong. The series was very good and had a great audience. I think Reilly is a butt plug for cancelling the show. I hope it will get picked up by another network and start a second season because it is well worth seeing. So why don’t you crawl in a hole and keep your lame opinions to yourself.

Rob • on Mar 19, 2012 3:37 pm

WTF? His *opinion* is dead wrong, but your opinion is *right*? How is an opinion dead wrong or right, and what gives you the right commit such an egregious logical fallacy, and then hurl insults at a stranger on the Internet for not liking your favourite crappy show?? Consider seeking professional help.

Mike • on Mar 26, 2012 5:01 am

Shut up? why do you even care. You replied to explain what an opinion was but then just ended up lowering yourself to their level? And you say he needs help? You need God.

smoke • on Mar 22, 2012 4:00 pm

my fam and friends have quit watching fox because of this why watch a show if u never know if they will bring it back it was such a good show

norma • on Mar 25, 2012 4:12 pm

I think Fox was wrong I looked forward to watching it every week
I hope another station picks it up.
I will watch it. loved it.

steve • on Apr 11, 2012 11:30 pm

Not many family friendly sci-fi shows on television. Gonna miss this one, our family watched it every week – and short of American Idol, it pretty much leaves nothing for me to watch on FOX. Bye guys… Not smart losing an entire demographic.

Mike • on Mar 26, 2012 4:45 am

Show wasn’t good? Yes, you obviously watched like 2 random episodes. The problem with most of you who have nothing but negative BLEEP to say about the series watch too much damn TV. Of course it’s not gonna be up to your standard because YOU have probably BLEEP watched every movie and show to date for the last 20-30 years! Show was GREAT! From the epic music they always played when something serious was going on or happened, the action and blowing stuff up, actors were awesome! I think Stephen Lang(fav char) played a GREAT LEADER alongside w/ Jason. Zoe man shes a sweet n smart girl. Not to mention dinosaurs! They did make it more quote “family-oriented” but it wasn’t bad. Very predictable at times but that is just poorly written. They should have known when they were casting actors it was going to end up being a family watched show. But you know what family tells family and it may not have gotten the ratings Fox wanted but they didn’t even try. To completely say the show sucked though…? Some of you trolls lol im bookmarking this page.

KatBallou • on Apr 28, 2012 5:49 pm

I LOVED this show and have been waiting for new episodes to start. Now I find out that idiot, Fox network, of course has dropped it so they could make space for such actors’ shows as TOUCH and others that have a tendency to be predictable, boring, etc. So here’s hoping ABC or one of the other intelligent networks will pick it up. Or maybe it was the content. You know how some break out in hives when confronted with the realities of killing off the real ozone layer, not only experiencing, now, confronting Global Warming facts we now are forced to face as a daily part of our lives (hurricanes, record numbers of tornadoes, misplaced winters, droughts, flooding, more earthquakes, record tsunamis, etc. Seeing these people going back in time just so they can experience real air, plant life, animals they could no longer enjoy because people who think it’s too expensive to stop pumping factory and car smog, refuse to look for alternative fuel sources because the oil and gas companies have too much invested in the kinds of fuels that create global warming, etc., and pay to get senators and representatives, governors, mayors, and other elected political voices who make sure those wells keep producing, billions keep getting made to keep those that have having even more. Yes. Lets not have a show that points out, so convincingly, so accurately, what kind of world we are going to leave our grandchildren, great grandchildren because that top 1% that has is too greedy, too selfish, too narcissistic to consider all the damage they are so determined to ignore because the means to our own destruction makes so much money for them.

I sure hope some other network picks it up because the rest of us 99%ers really enjoy the show. It may have had what Fox considered a slow start – but not any slower than shows like Touch. Just because they LOVE Keifer and will give him a second season to see if the ratings will come up – as has happened to many other great shows in the past, is no reason to loose Terra Nova, just to make room for Keifer. Cut another show that is clearly a dud that no one cared about in the first place.

• on May 9, 2012 7:39 pm

Terra Nova almost beat out House in viewers… HOUSE!!! Fox will keep around trash like Fringe and Touch [they made a smart move by dropping Alcatraz] but Terra Nova brought in around 8 million views, and by doubting Steven Spielberg, you’re putting yourself even further down the shitter. Maybe Starz will end up picking up Terra Nova. Spartacus and Terra Nova on one network O.o Starz would become my best friend! CBS rapes Fox anyway

nate • on May 11, 2012 9:37 pm

No one likes sci fi anymore except the british. If the x files were on the air today it would be canceled in the first season. No one has any imagination anymore its been declining since the space race and it died in the late 90’s. Good bye creativity hello hip hop, glitter and everything else shallow, shiny and cool.

Ma'at • on Mar 5, 2012 7:52 pm

I LOVE SciFi and was really excited to see this but it was so poorly written that it was stunning. Very dull. Bland stand alone stories., etc. The actors tried gamely but just a dull mess.

James Shade • on Mar 5, 2012 8:25 pm

There’s some YMMV on the “stunningness” of this show being dreck. Anyone who saw Falling Skies (another Spielberg production, and inexplicably the highest rated show on TNT last summer) was pretty much ready to be disappointed by Terra Nova.

Tim W. • on Mar 6, 2012 10:08 am

I enjoyed Fallings Skies quite a bit, actually, and look forward to it’s return next summer.

A.Men • on Mar 17, 2012 5:17 am

“The Librarian” is wasted in this dull Spielberg disaster. The monsters are the only interesting bit!

Jerry • on Mar 7, 2012 9:27 pm

I also liked falling skies, but too long a period of time between seasons but atleast it is returning though

Kirk • on Apr 16, 2012 9:24 am

I enjoyed Falling Skies as well but it was not something I would let my 8 year old watch, unlike Terra Nova which was family friendly. I think FOX is getting retarded on what shows they continue with. Idol is dumb this year and now I have nothing to watch on a channel I have to pay for as I have a satellite dish. BRING IT BACK, AND FIRE the idiot who cancelled it if it is making money why cancel I think the exec just don’t like scifi so why give him the full power to cancel a scifi show.

Kate • on Mar 5, 2012 8:48 pm

I was turned off by the roles the actors played, i.e. the rebellious teen boy resenting his father? So cliched and tired. Doing things that put the family at risk? I was looking for something different, a fresh variation on this tried and true theme of seeking a new Earth.

Eddie • on Mar 6, 2012 1:13 am

Agreed. Hated the teen sub plots.

stephen • on Mar 6, 2012 9:14 am

My thoughts exactly. Watched the first hour and couldn’t believe the cliches. So tired and uninteresting, I never finished the last hour.

Jacqui Deer • on Mar 6, 2012 12:05 am

Fox employee maybe? A true Sci-Fi fan would know the frustration of the constant cancellation of shows in this genre. You wouldn’t hang insults on ‘Terra Nova’ any more than you would of on Stargate universe, firefly or the Sarah chronicle files (all cancelled). Some sci-Fi fan … NOT. SAVE TERRA NOVA!

Tim W. • on Mar 6, 2012 10:15 am

Terra Nova employee maybe? That would explain every single one of your comments on this page.

CMR • on Mar 6, 2012 5:05 pm

I’m sure the site is happy to have traffic from fans too, and that your opinion is welcome as well. I was just struck by the number of comments, most of which seemed to accuse people who disagreed with you of being fox employees or of having no reason to comment if they didn’t care about the show. I was trying to explain why there are many comments from non-employees that are primarily interested in the business implications and the studio politics. That said, if the show gets saved it will probably be because of passionate fans like you, so good for you.

dwight • on Mar 6, 2012 5:39 pm

I agree! You can’t count on any good shows staying on anymore except for perverse, trashy, immoral, bottom-feeding tripe that the amoral masses suck up. Seriously. Kardashians? Wicked and foul people. If anyone admires these people, God help them. But that’s what we keep on for many seasons. So why can’t we enjoy harmless sci-fi fantasy?

• on Mar 17, 2012 3:55 pm

I agree I’m tired of networks constantly cancelling sci-fi shows. There are way too many reality shows. We need more sci-fi

Olivia • on May 20, 2012 10:37 am

I so agree. Terra Nova was one of my favorite shows. I suggest Falling Skies, that is a good show like Terra Nova.

Teamad • on Mar 20, 2012 1:49 am

I agree, SciFi fans are left with one season and no ability for the show to grow. Firefly had fans who brought back the show as a movie. Mr. Whelan had to kill off characters to finally put it to rest. Fox just has no vision anymore. Check out AMC’s Walking Dead. I wish Fox would give shows at least two seasons.

Walt • on Mar 27, 2012 4:25 pm

Walking Dead is a good show. However if they do not come back with more than 6 episodes. I will not be watching it any more.

Vickie Murray • on May 8, 2012 9:14 pm

I love Walking Dead. I just wish the Sci Fi channel (I know with a Y) would pick up some of these great shows.

Dan • on Apr 12, 2012 12:59 pm

Agreed Stargate Universe was just finding itself as in independent series. I loved it, it was amazing, brilliantly written, and i miss all the shows that used to be on scifi TV has truly gone to crap.

Me • on May 14, 2012 2:04 pm

I agree. I was sad to see stargate universe go and I’m very sad to see Terra Nova go. I loved it, yes the plot could use some thickening but come on now… Twilight was an immediate hit and what was that plot based on?? Sci-fi seems to be a dying age, I wish I could just walk up to these big shots at NBC and CBS and shake them. They cancelled Secret Circle too over at the CW… That could have easily been my generations Charmed!! I’m just appalled at the shows they have left on (Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious, real housewives) while they get rid of any show with the potential to make viewers use their brains for an hour during the week…

Michael • on Mar 6, 2012 5:14 am

NBC should pick this up. Hire a new showrunner, give it a big marketing push that angles it as a re-launch, “the perfect time to start watching” sort of thing. Even if the ratings don’t improve, it’s not like NBC has anything better. Plus, they can rerun it on SyFy. Makes a lot of sense.

After seeing how bad Terra Nova and Alcatraz have turned out, I am even more annoyed that Locke & Key was passed over. I think FOX really blew that decision, big-time.

XYZ • on Mar 6, 2012 1:40 pm

Both Terra Nova and Alcatraz are boring. Yet they got where they did because of their star EPs – Spielberg, Chernin and JJ Abrams. Maybe networks should pick up a show based on it’s own creativity as opposed to superstar deals which cost a fortune and leave little room for others to show creativity.

Joseph • on Mar 23, 2012 12:37 pm

I love both Terra Nova and Alcatraz. They both make me think and leave me guessing about overall story arcs. I like the writing overall as a series. even if on individual episode they can seem cliche.

Joe Jenkins • on Mar 5, 2012 7:56 pm

Really? Who cares.

Alex • on Mar 5, 2012 8:33 pm

Probably the millions of people who watched the show. And you, apparently, for taking the time out of your life to comment.

Magilla • on Mar 5, 2012 9:11 pm

You read the post. You clicked to comment. Perhaps you care. If not, why are you even here?

• on Mar 6, 2012 12:10 am

7.5 million fans cared. And like the above posts highlight, you obviously did too otherwise you wouldn’t had read this article and bothered to comment. Busted! SAVE TERRA NOVA! Fox employee maybe?

Ain't Bragging About Braga • on Mar 6, 2012 8:33 am

Just dancing on the show’s grave, that’s all…

You can thank Braga for the cancellation. And the guys they had to hire over him to try and right the ship.

joe • on Mar 6, 2012 4:01 am

I liked it too. They did need to lose some of those kids. But it wasn’t a bad show. Theres far worse on every station

Frank Tien • on Mar 5, 2012 7:57 pm

Steven Spielberg hasn’t had that great of a track record. Amazing Stories? United States of Tara? SeaQuest? His only real success in TV was slapping his name on Tiny Toons, Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain.

JR • on Mar 5, 2012 8:14 pm

Falling Skies was reasonably successful on TNT, but otherwise his recent shows (Terra Nova, Smash, The River) have all been disappointments.

loyd • on Mar 6, 2012 12:30 am

Reasonably successful? It was a major hit and it broke plenty of records for the network. It aired in a very complicated timeslot (Sundays against True Blood and a bunch of successful male-oriented reality shows such as Ice Road Truckers). More than that, the show held very well all season long and it ended with about the same number of viewers than its series premiere.

scifi_fan • on Mar 6, 2012 11:15 am

Falling Skies ain’t the best show I’ve ever seen, but I find it likeable and watchable. Noah Wylie was good casting, he provides a strong center for the show. But its biggest advantage is being on TNT, where 7M gets you hit status, while on FOX it gets you cancelled.

Terra Nova is yet another example of how hard it is for broadcast to make anything work. Go cheap and mainstream, and you drive more of your audience to cable. Go pricey and niche, and you can’t afford the budget.

Maybe the solution is, we don’t need five broadcast networks because their business model is now archaic? Some of them have to fail. I’d imagine they’ll keep trying to find another solution until the bitter end.

scifi_fan • on Mar 6, 2012 11:16 am

Oh PS, don’t count Smash out yet. That one seems to be turning itself around (just in time, too, even on desperate NBC).

KrisTM • on Mar 6, 2012 1:04 am

Didn’t Speilberg also produce ER? That would count as a success on any level…

Frank Tien • on Mar 6, 2012 5:30 am

Falling Skies has 10 episodes so far. When there’s 100 in the vault, it’ll be a success. We’ll revisit this in 2020.

Far as ER goes, Spielberg split after the first season. Perhaps that was the key to its long run.

a little history • on Mar 6, 2012 9:57 am

Yep – Tony Thomopoulos was heading up Amblin TV after being head of ABC. This was right after Jurassic Park had hit big, and there was an old Michael Chrichton spec feature called ER – old enough that the basketball references were to Dr. J instead of Michael Jordan. TT redeveloped it into an hour-long drama. Rod Holcomb directed the pilot, it lucked out in getting the Thursday night at 10 timeslot, and did much better than the David E. Kelley chicago doctor show Chicago Hope (though that lasted a few seasons, too).

Chrichton and Spielberg each would make over $100 million from ER. John Wells making probably half that, for running it.

And how did Spielberg repay Tony Thomopoulos, who redeveloped an old feature into the biggest drama cashcow in TV (ok, outside of Law and Order?)

Oh, right. He fired him shortly after ER premiered.

Stay classy, San Diego.

Jerry • on Mar 7, 2012 9:31 pm

Hate to tell you but Seaquest ran for several seasons. That sounds pretty sucessful to me

tigerlily • on Apr 11, 2012 11:21 pm

Loved Terra Nova and Sea Quest was the best.

blort • on Mar 5, 2012 8:01 pm

terrible show was terrible. goodbye!

frozen city • on Mar 5, 2012 8:11 pm

I’m shocked! Shocked! With that innovative concept, the coherent vision, commitment to solid, grounded story-telling and the blue-ribbon visionaries behind the project, it’s hard to imagine what went wrong. Ah, Hollywood, banish thyself to thy room.

Ed • on Mar 5, 2012 8:11 pm

The Finder’s not on the bubble, it’s dead. Once they pushed it to Fridays it all but officially became a goner, though it was DOA.

Blake • on Mar 5, 2012 8:12 pm

I liked the show, but it was meandering. It took along time before it got any kind of focus. By the time it did, it seemed that the producers painted themselves into a heck of a corner. While it would be interesting to see how (and if) they got out of it, I think it’s best to appreciate what they were able to do and move on.

• on Mar 6, 2012 12:25 am

Why is the above comment trying to coach us to just ‘move on’? Fox employee maybe? If you didn’t like the show, why bother reading the article and commenting on it? Suspicious hey … Loved Terra Nova!

Fan • on Mar 6, 2012 3:28 am

Fox must employ a heck of a lot of people.

fox_employee • on Mar 6, 2012 11:20 am

No wonder they can’t afford to make Terra Nova, with that massive overhead!

velouria • on Mar 5, 2012 8:18 pm

Bad ratings and too pricey. What other network would want it?

Ben • on Mar 5, 2012 8:18 pm

Smart move. The most hyped trainwreck since Sarah Palin. And as I said to John McCain, I will say to Spielberg, thanks wasting my time and now go eff yourself.

David Francis • on Mar 6, 2012 10:50 pm

Classy, NOT

@Frank Tien • on Mar 5, 2012 8:24 pm

Didn’t Spielberg help produce ER including making the decision to save Julianna Margulies at the end of ERs pilot? From Wikipedia, “Spielberg left the show after one year as a producer, having made one critical decision with lasting effects: the Carol Hathaway character, who died at the end of the original pilot episode script, was retained.”http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ER_(TV_series)

Justin • on Mar 5, 2012 9:21 pm

That was nearly 20 years ago. On a side note, do you get all your information from Wikipedia?

Rayman • on Mar 5, 2012 8:26 pm

Execution! As in badly executed. Painful to watch. Gave up after 3 episodes.

alexsn • on Mar 6, 2012 7:35 am

If a TV show can’t captivate a viewer in three episodes, it isn’t doing its job. Likewise, if a novel can’t capture a reader in three chapters, it isn’t doing its job.

Mike • on Mar 26, 2012 5:11 am

Lol this coming from Rayman. The worst game in the history of Playstation.

magge • on Mar 5, 2012 8:27 pm

I love Terra Nova! I did wish the writing was better and also that the character of the son was actually interesting. It’s too bad, but hope it gets picked up elsewhere. Maybe syfy?

scifi_fan • on Mar 6, 2012 11:24 am

Are you kidding??? SyFy couldn’t remotely afford it. The dinos would have to be performed by hand puppets and the “jungle” would be in British Columbia (maybe they could scatter some potted ferns around, seriously, they did that once on Stargate, lol!)

However, the cast and writing are no worse than the average SyFy, so it would fit right in.

FTCS • on Mar 5, 2012 8:27 pm

Smart move by Fox.

Terra Nova was too costly…too boring… too bad.

FTCS • on Mar 6, 2012 8:10 am

Jacqui Dear,

Why do you and other posters equate spending time on DH to write comments about shows as some sort of an oxymoron?

People can read DH and make comments because they did experience the subject. How you equate this to “it wasn’t boring enough for you if you took the time to read long articles..” just does not make any sense whatsoever.

This show sucked…period. Glad you loved it

embarrassedforjacqui • on Mar 6, 2012 10:25 am

Jacqui–
Your shift just started. Back to the fry station.

Johnny Ringo • on Mar 6, 2012 10:49 am

Jacqui Deer: Please stop repeating this comment everywhere.

Chevy Nova was a great car • on Mar 5, 2012 8:32 pm

How could they have made money on this show? It was so expensive. Are they claiming they made money from foreign payments and overseas advertising? I’d love to see the actual financials on this show how much they spent for all the episodes above and below the line and how much they have made.

I suppose they will make money from the DVD sales of this first season but what other network could afford this show? SyFy Network would be the right place for it but only with a much lower budget.

“If this is all we make (of Terra Nova), we made money on it, the studio made money on it, and it seems to have resonated with the family audience,”

John • on Mar 6, 2012 2:23 am

I honestly didn’t care one way or the other whether Fox cancelled this show or not; I haven’t watched a single episode. With that said, you–with all of your comments here–are the sole reason I am now so happy this show was cancelled. Congratulations.

Before you rhetorically ask, no, I am not a Fox employee.

Aggregator • on Mar 6, 2012 9:22 am

Jacui Deer, not everyone who criticizes this show works for Fox.

SEVERAL people in town watched this show with a keen eye.

When he stepped down as president of News Corp., Peter Chernin exercised a six-year exit package modeled after the generous deals Fox lavished on “Avatar” director James Cameron and “The Practice” creator David E. Kelly.

News Corp’s Fox is required to fund at least two movies a year and air three TV shows. If the studio does not pick up the required number of projects, it must pay Chernin Entertainment a penalty of $9 million per movie and $2.5 million for each unfilled TV slot, according to the LA Times.

So you’ll have to forgive a little bit of hand-rubbing glee on the part of the people in this business who see an ex-studio-chief extort a golden parachute –the likes of which are almost never given to creative people– only to have it blow up in his face when he can’t wrangle his big premiere show. 16 Executive Producers is a recipe for disaster — this show was doomed from Jump Street because it was hemorrhaging cash out the door to people who weren’t even working on it. The show was probably doomed no matter what the ratings, but once those ratings fell as far as they did, there was no hope for it.

The only people surprised by this news are the fans who don’t work in the industry. The only people saddened by this news are truly holy people who don’t get a kick out of seeing a studio head fatcat take it on the chin like he routinely doled out the same to working creatives for years.

Miss Manager • on Mar 6, 2012 10:42 am

You obviously don’t work in entertainment, because it is all about bottom line and profits. So for you to say who cares how much it cost, you know nothing. You may think it is about entertaining, keep living in your delusion.

fox_employee • on Mar 6, 2012 11:25 am

The above comment is made by someone who doesn’t have the first clue that the TV business is, in fact, a business.

And I’m not a Fox employee either.

brick • on Mar 5, 2012 8:38 pm

Shopped to other networks? Who else can afford this show? This shit is a flop.

David Francis • on Mar 6, 2012 10:51 pm

Big vocabulary heh

Jon • on Mar 5, 2012 8:49 pm

Getting rid of all the kids, and anyone under 20 might be a step in the right direction if they want to “tweak” the show a bit.

Magilla • on Mar 5, 2012 9:51 pm

What is difference between “family-friendly” and “for the kids”? Because, yeah, TERRA NOVA went way too far with the kiddie factor. (The much more adult WALKING DEAD, though uneven, managed to use the son character rather well in last night’s episode.)

JohnDoe • on Mar 5, 2012 8:51 pm

This might actually be good news for Fringe…They might be trying to make some financial room for it in a shorter 5th season run.

sCoTT • on Mar 5, 2012 8:52 pm

Hm. Hadn’t even watched a second after hearing such bad things.

wg • on Mar 5, 2012 8:55 pm

Damn. :( I really liked the show.

deer hater • on Mar 6, 2012 2:37 pm

Seriously? I TRIED to like this show, I really did. With the absurd amount of advertising this show got it was bound to disappoint. But then I saw the pilot and BAM I was hit with so many non-stop sci-fi cliches and ripoffs, that I spit out my coffee and I wasn’t even drinking any.

A Stargate? Check. The (far shittier) compound from Jurassic Park? check. The ‘waaah, you weren’t there for the kids and family’ even though it wasn’t your fault angle. check. The angsty/rebellious/slice of life teen shtick? check.

This show failed hard on just about everything it tried to do and the even worse part was that the acting wasn’t horrific, the writing was just god awful. There were so many plot devices and cheap imagery used, starting from the pilot: yeah we’re from the future BUT we’re going to build our compound from frickin trees, i’m sure that’ll keep out trouble. The sub plot lines featuring the kids causing trouble and falling in/out love, the main characters wifes’ possible affair/flirting with that other guy, the spy, and all the other crap that they tried to stuff in to kill time gave the show one hell of a massive identity crisis. Is it really a sci-fi/fantasy show, or is a family-themed show that just happened to have a sci-fi/fantasy element to it? As a fan of previous stargate and battlestar franchises, I have a rough time associating Terra Nova into that genre. They would have done just as well calling it Stargate: Dinosaurs and then spending the season arguing over the butterfly effect of being there. So glad to know I won’t have to deal with seeing a million more ads for this pile of poo.

Mike • on Mar 26, 2012 5:10 am

that is your problem you have a standard. nothing will compare to your favorites. Gotta watch it with an open mind not compare it to everything else and say it doesn’t have this this or this. lol stop dwelling on past shows and live in the present.

Monvf • on Apr 4, 2012 6:54 am

Seriously?? Having standards is now a bad thing? Since when? Should I apologize for having watched good shows before? Comparing Terra Nova – with it’s cliches and half a dozen characters ALWAYS getting in messes, one more predictable than the other – even mentioning it in the same sentence with Battlestar Galactica is ludicrous. Now mind you, I am a big fan of everything sci-fi, movies, tv shows, books, whaterver, but this? It was shameful. Made me laugh out loud it was so ridiculous.

John Laing • on Apr 11, 2012 4:44 pm

I agree. Damm I really liked the show but as usual anything liked is cancelled. Maybe another network will pick it up. It was a good show. Once again I don’t understand or agree with anything FOX does.

Monk • on Mar 5, 2012 9:01 pm

Is Alcatraz really on the bubble ? I thought it was doing rather well and the premise is quite interesting

Triumph • on Mar 5, 2012 9:37 pm

It is interesting…for me to poop on!

Reader • on Mar 5, 2012 10:53 pm

alcatraz is awesome. every ep has a great body count. “what’d he do to get put away?” “Poisoned people.” “How many people?” “seventy.”

charlie • on Mar 5, 2012 9:04 pm

everyone i know who watch tv, being from the uk, australia or france was excited for this show but it was so poorly written that i barely know anyone who watched past the pilot. so bad it was laughable.

TerraNO • on Mar 5, 2012 9:30 pm

Yeah, that was my experience too: Watched the pilot with high hopes, was stunned by the dreadful writing and cardboard characters, slogged through an equally turgid second episode, then gave up. It was such a cynical exercise in TV programming: slap Spielberg’s name on it, throw in a bunch of cheesy-looking dinos, and hope that viewers won’t notice that there weren’t even trace elements of story, suspense, surprises. I laughed when the credits rolled; there were something like a dozen separate people with the title “Executive Producer.” This wasn’t a series, it was a deal memo.

Jon • on Mar 5, 2012 10:42 pm

“This wasn’t a series, it was a deal memo.”

Genius.

Miss Manager • on Mar 6, 2012 10:47 am

Go away you loon, this is not a place to comment like this.

scifi_fan • on Mar 6, 2012 11:28 am

Not genius.

DB • on Mar 5, 2012 9:17 pm

while i did not like the show one bit, it was at least more tolerable than Falling Skies. Still, i’m actually quite surprised Fox didn’t renew it. TNT should snag it up if it had the money, this goes so well with the other Steven Spielberg family-friendly boring drag Falling Skies so well.

LMC • on Mar 16, 2012 7:26 am

Unfortunatley, it’s a money game and unless a TV show is full of sex, drugs, and random acts of Hi-Def violence, it doesn’t capture people’s interest enough to keep it on the air. Sad what entertainment has become. It has become almost impossible to have a family TV night where we parents and our kids can watch together and not have to cringe from scene to scene. Falling Skies and Terra Nova were our favorite shows. Thanks Fox for killing one of the very last family friendly pieces. For all TV stations out there, it is a GREAT DISRESPECT, as well as a DISPLAY OF A LACK OF APPRECIATION for it’s viewers when a show is cancelled and you do not provide closure of the story line.
If you are to cancel a series, then at least end it so we can move on. Abruptly leaving people hanging on a story line is rude and screams that you don’t care about your viewers. What is our incentive for showing any interest in any other shows you introduce if we know this is how you end them?!?! Unfortunatley, this has been the pattern, even with shows like the Event. Another great family show…..what a let down. My kids again will be dissapointed.
For our family, we have made a decision NOT TO CONTINUE TO WATCH ANY NEW PROGRAMS until after they have had their run and the word is that they have ended the series with closure. Then we will view it on DVD or on Netflix. Right back at ya Fox!

DLJ • on Apr 9, 2012 10:22 am

I agree I’m sick of getting invested in a new series (after great network hype) just to have it pulled with little or no closure. This year Terra Nova next Alcatraz possibly The Firm. The burn list is getting rediculous, The Event, Flashforward, Mercy, Invasion (canceled because Americans couldn’t handle the Hurricane Plot) The 4400(I could be here all day). It seems like network execs no more about how to kill a series than keep an audience. Look out if you watch CSI: Miami or The Good Wife (CBS Sunday) if you can’t tune in at the slotted time and watch it viewers will watch something else nearly everyone has 300+ channels these days. My points: Don’t over hype a show you don’t firmly plan on runnig 2 seasons. Give your viewers closure if the show has an audience. People use DVRs make damn sure the shows on at the scheduled time.

Justin • on Mar 5, 2012 9:22 pm

The show actually got better as time went on. It’s a shame as the show seemed to be getting its rhythm.

Jon • on Mar 5, 2012 9:46 pm

You could say the same of Jaycee Duggar.

Monvf • on Apr 4, 2012 6:59 am

Yeah, the show was much better as time went on, as in after the last credit on the screen – it is over!!! Hurray!!!